This is no way to treat a dog

WHAT sort of person can allow a loving pet to become a bag of skin and bones? It certainly isn’t the kind of person who deserves to own a pet.

As you will see from today’s paper, Bungle the boxer was in a sorry state indeed when he arrived at Sheffield’s RSPCA Animal Centre in Attercliffe.

Apart from weighing just half the amount expected of a dog his size and weight, the animal had multiple sores, including ulcers to both eyes and pressure sores on his hindquarters.

Only through pure and complete neglect could he have deteriorated into the sorry pile of skin and bones.

But Bungle has a huge heart and he quickly showed staff at the centre that he bore people no grudges and has begun to settle into his new routine as he begins his long road to recovery.

Meanwhile, we support the RSPCA’s plea to find the owner of this sorely mistreated dog.

They deserve all the law can throw at them, not only as punishment but also as a warning to others that when they take a pet into their home they accept a major responsibility.

Power plant puts us in the lead

OUR region has moved a step closer to a cleaner, greener future with the start of construction for a new biomass power station being built at Blackburn Meadows, between Sheffield and Rotherham and close to the site where the twin cooling towers once stood.

The new power plant, which will take two years to build, creating work for 200 people in the process, will burn waste wood to create enough electricity for 40,000 homes.

This marks a major step towards the UK becoming self-sufficient in its energy needs and frees the nation from the stranglehold of oil and gas which are imported from often unstable parts of the world. It also once more marks the Sheffield city region down as a go-ahead part of the country.

Worth every penny

THIS is the moment so many of our readers have been waiting for – to see a little boy take his first brave steps. Ollie Saxton was born with cerebral palsy and needed specialist treatment only available in the United States. And that came with a huge price tag. But our big-hearted readers joined other fundraisers to help gather the £43,000 to send Ollie for his life-changing operation. He has a long way to go and more fundraising is on the horizon to pay for further treatment. But we are sure readers will agree the results are worth every penny!